Germany

Germany adds 4.7GW onshore in 2014

GERMANY: A record 4,750MW of new onshore wind capacity was installed in Germany in 2014, 58% more than the 2,998MW in 2013.

Repowering is expected to become increasingly important in the German market

The figures where produced by Deutsche WindGuard for German wind energy association BWE and engineering federation VDMA's power systems division.

Around 1,148MW was added in repowering projects, involving the dismantling of about 364MW. The net increase in onshore capacity in 2014 was therefore 4,386MW, raising the size of the onshore fleet to 38,116MW. Repowering is expected to become increasingly significant in the coming years.

German onshore perfomance in 2014 was roughly on a par with expansion in the US. With about 44GW installed worldwide, according to a VDMA assessment, Germany accounted for about 10% of the global market.

Speaking about the figures, BWE president Hermann Albers said: "[Looking ahead], a more continual expansion with less sudden leaps is vital for the industry and the Energiewende (the transition to increasing reliance on renewables), whereby the electricity, mobility and heat sectors have to be considered together."

Onshore additions of 3.5-4.0GW are expected in 2015, with activity staying at a high level in 2016.